


The Real MVP

by chromyrose



Series: SASO 2017 [31]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Brother-Sister Relationships, Canon Compliant, Chapter 189 spoilers, Fluff, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Season/Series 03 Spoilers, Secret Crush, arts and crafts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-30
Updated: 2017-07-30
Packaged: 2018-12-08 17:31:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,808
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11651355
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chromyrose/pseuds/chromyrose
Summary: Nearly seven months after he’s started at Karasuno High School, Hinata finds it hard to remember why his stomach used to curl at the very thought of Tsukishima. It’s not as if he’s become blind to Tsukishima’s faults; half a year has passed, but Tsukishima still has the same rotten attitude, is still unfairly tall, frustratingly apathetic, and a completely awful tutor, but somewhere in that time Hinata’s become a lot more forgiving of all of it.Maybe it’s because Tsukishima pulled through for them all in a clutch.





	The Real MVP

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: "Hinata in the gym or clubroom with a handmade MVP medal
> 
> I have secretly always wanted a reason to write this pairing, but never an idea, so when this prompt presented itself I really couldn't resist filling it! I hope you all enjoy it :D

Nearly seven months after he’s started at Karasuno High School, Hinata finds it hard to remember why his stomach used to curl at the very thought of Tsukishima. It’s not as if he’s become blind to Tsukishima’s faults; half a year has passed, but Tsukishima still has the same rotten attitude, is still unfairly tall, frustratingly apathetic, and a completely awful tutor, but somewhere in that time Hinata’s become a lot more forgiving of all of it.

Maybe it’s because he’s seen some of the good in Tsukishima too: his determination to succeed, his loyalty, his grit. Maybe it’s because he’s been talking to Yamaguchi a lot more, and Yamaguchi is quite biased in favor of Tsukishima himself, explaining all of the crotchety things he says and does in a way that –almost– redeems him. Or, maybe it’s because Tsukishima pulled through for them all in a clutch, and even the third years and Coach Ukai agree that he’s the reason they beat Shiratorizawa. 

Hinata goes home after the match still full of adrenaline, ready to run a marathon or shout a fighting anthem from the roof of their house – he can’t constructively release any of that energy, though, because his mother needs him to watch Natsu while she visits an ailing elderly neighbor, and Natsu wants to color.

“Are you _sure_ we can’t go outside?” He huffs, resting his chin on the coffee table impatiently. “I’ll even give you a piggyback ride, Natsu-chan!” 

“No,” Natsu repeats, not even looking up from her page. “I’m very busy now, _onii-san_. Too busy to play with you.”

Hinata realizes how bizarre this role reversal is, where Natsu is the one too busy to play with him, and he sits up with a glower to look at her ‘work.’ “What are you even so busy doing, huh? Let me see!” 

“No!” Natsu shrills as she covers the page with her arms. It’s not the first time Hinata has asked for a peek, nor is it the first time she’s denied the request, and he can tell she’s getting annoyed with him now. Hinata flops onto his back on the floor and sighs. 

“ _Onii-san_ , if you’re so bored, make me apple bunnies,” Natsu decides, her forearms still blocking most of the page from sight. 

“Mom is going to be home soon and then we’ll have dinner. She’ll get mad if I give you a snack now, so just be patient, okay Natsu?”

Suddenly, Natsu drops her head down onto the table, cheeks puffed up in anger, and wails, “But I’m hungry _nooooow_! You gotta feed me, _niiiiii-saaaaan_!” 

There’s no use debating Natsu when she gets into a fit of theatrics, especially because Hinata is really affected by the sound of her whining, even when he knows she’s not actually upset. He grumbles to himself as he goes to the kitchen and starts whittling away at an apple, mostly mad at himself for succumbing to the whims of a dramatic five year old.

Just as he finishes up with the last of the apple slices and places the knife in the sink, Natsu rushes into the kitchen with a big grin on her face and crashes purposely into Hinata’s thigh. 

“Congratulations!” She sings, as she hugs him with one arm, the other waving a piece of paper. “Surprise!” 

Hinata is absolutely surprised, and blinks down at his sister, instinctively placing his hand on her back to return the little hug. “Whoa! What’s this?” 

“It’s your award,” Natsu explains, holding the paper out to him. “Teacher gives an award every week to someone who does something good, and you won the whole big game!” 

The award, Hinata notes, is a drawing of a person with orange hair and a black shirt – presumably him – carrying a ball and a trophy with another orange blob on his head. 

“That’s me,” Natsu explains, pointing at the second blob. “And that’s Kagemama—“ 

“Kageyama,” Hinata corrects gently, trying very hard not to laugh. He’d thought ‘Kageyama’ was the pole holding up the net. “And what’s this?” He asks, pointing to a cluster of red lines across the top. 

“Your name! It can’t be an award without a name, _nii-san_. ‘Cept I dunno how to write ‘Shouyou’.” 

Squinting, Hinata can see how the marks almost make up the hiragana for ‘Hi-Na-Ta.’ It’s a stretch, but his sister is still in Kindergarten, so he accepts it and pulls her up onto his hip to give her a proper hug. 

“Thank you, Natsu, this is the best award I’ve ever gotten,” he says, much to her delight as she hugs him back and giggles. 

“You’re welcome! Now let me go, I gotta make one for Ka-ge-ya-ma!”

“Wait, Kageyama gets one too?” He asks, no longer feeling quite as special.

“He’s your partner!” Natsu insists, squirming until she’s on her feet again. “You can’t win volleyball alone, you said that!” 

“Yeah, but there’s a whole team, not just him and me! And anyways, Kageyama’s not the one who—“ 

Hinata catches himself thinking about Tsukishima, and cuts himself off mid-sentence. He puzzles over how deep his newfound respect for Tsukishima apparently goes, while Natsu blithely heads back to the coffee table. 

“Bring the apples with you!” She calls behind her, and Hinata follows dumbly.

“So you’re making an award for Kageyama,” Hinata repeats once they’ve sat down and each helped themself to an apple slice. “Are you gonna make one for everyone on the team?” 

For the first time, Natsu looks a little uncomfortable, and she frowns at her brother. “Do I have to? There’s so many and I don’t know their names! Are they gonna be mad if I don’t…?” 

“No,” Hinata says quickly, hoping there are no tears. “No, you definitely don’t have to, no one will get mad. Or sad. Or anything else.” He drops his voice and leans in close. “I’ll tell Kageyama to come with me tomorrow after school so he can get his secretly, and no one else will know about it, okay?” 

Natsu sighs a little and nods. “Okay. That’s a good idea.”

For a few minutes, Hinata watches his sister color intently, smiling to himself as her tongue pokes out from between her lips every few minutes. His fingers start itching for the yellow crayon, as much as he is loathe to admit it, even to himself, but he hasn’t exactly mastered self-control so he does eventually grab it.

“Hey, Natsu, do you think it’s cool if I make an award, too?” 

“For who?” She asks absently, not looking up from her masterpiece. “Not Kagehmhm?” 

Hinata absolutely notices that his sister mumbled the end of Kageyama’s name indecipherably, but he doesn’t comment. 

“No, not him, someone else on the team. Tsukishima. He’s the one who told us how to block Ushiwaka.” 

“Ushiwaka,” Natsu repeats, giggling. “Wakawaka!”

Hinata snickers even though he knows he probably shouldn’t. “Exactly. Without him, we wouldn’t have won…” 

Natsu looks up from her page and blinks at Hinata with wide eyes, then pushes a blank sheet of paper towards him. “So make,” she says simply, before returning to her own work. 

\--

The next morning, Hinata has regrets about the paper in his schoolbag. Technically there is no club meeting, because Coach Ukai has given them the day off to rest their bodies after yesterday’s intense match, but Hinata is wholly unsurprised when he gets to school and there are already bags in the clubroom and people on the court. Some have changed into gym clothes and others are in their school uniforms, among them Tsukishima. Hinata swallows hard, changes his shoes, and takes the plunge into the gym. 

Tanaka and Nishinoya seem to be in the middle of reenacting part of the match, and Hinata notices that Nishinoya has somehow managed to nab Tsukishima’s glasses to get into character. He looks to Tsukishima’s face, notices that even though he’s squinting and irritated his eyes seem larger than usual, and feels himself flush. While Yamaguchi is distracted laughing at Tanaka’s attempt to mimic Ushijima’s bland expression, Hinata nudges Tsukishima’s arm. Wordlessly, he gestures to an empty corner of the room, and Tsukishima obviously considers this, whether he wants to follow or not. 

For a moment, Hinata fears that Tsukishima will call attention to him, make the second years and Yamaguchi look up, and the thought makes him freeze and scramble for an cover story. So it catches him off guard when Tsukishima shrugs and pushes him ahead, and Hinata stumbles on his feet to hasten to a private place. 

“You followed me,” he says dumbly once he and Tsukishima are alone, and Tsukishima rolls his eyes. 

“I got curious. What could you possibly have to be furtive about? Probably something embarrassing,” is what Tsukishima answers, shrugging again. “So what is it?”

Being called out makes the heat return to Hinata’s cheeks, and he huffs. He digs into his bag and pulls the paper out, exceptionally embarrassed by it now. Not satisfied with the kind of awards Natsu was churning out, Hinata had traced the bottom of a bowl and cut the circle out, threaded a length of yarn through a hole in the top, and then lettered as neatly as he could, 

****

“月島 蛍  
M.V.P. Karasuno.”

Holding it out now, he truly feels like a child – which is silly, because he’s three months older than Tsukishima, anyways. Tsukishima’s eyes are especially wide as he looks from Hinata to the makeshift medal, and Hinata realizes it’s the first time he’s ever seen Tsukishima truly caught off guard.

“What is this?” Tsukishima demands, but there’s no bite behind his words. He takes the paper circle and brings it up to his face. 

“It’s exactly what it looks like,” Hinata huffs again. 

“Is that any way to talk to a guy who’s missing his glasses?” Tsukishima mumbles, but before Hinata can feel bad for being insensitive, Tsukishima pulls the yarn over his head and lets the paper charm sit on his chest. “Kidding. I’m not that blind. I can definitely see that your face is the same color as your hair.”

“You’re an asshole,” Hinata complains. “I can’t believe I almost forgot why I hate you so much.”

Tsukishima laughs, and rubs the heel of his palm against Hinata’s messy curls before he tucks his hands into his pockets. “Thank you. It’s always a compliment when an idiot wants nothing to do with me.” 

He starts to turn away, and Hinata squeaks. “Are you actually going to wear that?” 

Over his shoulder, Tsukishima smirks. “Absolutely. I’m going to keep it on all day.” Hinata squeaks again, and Tsukishima adds a casual, “Thanks, Hinata.”

As he watches Tsukishima rejoin the team and pinch his glasses off of Nishinoya’s face with ease, Hinata promises himself he’ll never do another nice thing for him ever, ever again.

**Author's Note:**

> Please do let me know what you think; kudos and comments are always appreciated! You can find me elsewhere online on [twitter](https://twitter.com/haikyuutiie).


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